Coaching, Consulting and Mentorship for Food Creatives

If you’ve found your way to this page, you are a Food Creative. Whether you cook, style, write, direct, design or simply play with your food, I’m here to help. I offer one-on-one guidance and practical support to:

  • Help you break into food media and navigate its landscape

  • Discover and develop your unique place within food media

  • Build an authentic and memorable brand with your unique voice and visual language

  • Develop top-tier food styling and directing skills

  • Pitch, write and produce your own (or someone else’s) cookbook

  • Support your progress and coach you through stumbling blocks and transitions

  • Share hard-earned wisdom and advice

Nearly three decades in the food business as an award-winning food stylist, mentor, author, chef, restauranteur, artist, motion director and all-around Food Creative have armed me with a keen eye, a wealth of experience, and the skills, insight and professional relationships that have kept me positioned solidly in the top tier of food media.

I’m here to share these with you. Everybody’s goals are different, so here are ways we can work together:

  • If you’re just breaking into the food world or looking to chart a different course in your food journey, this session is for you.

    Do you have a passion for cooking? Are you involved with or curious about food styling? Directing? Recipe development? Food writing? A combination of these?

    This is an opportunity to pick my brain for insight and information to help you figure out where you fit based on your unique interests, abilities, education, experience and dreams. (Your quirks are especially valuable here).

    This can function as a valuable stand-alone session or a starting point for additional collaboration.

    You’ll leave with clarity and actionable steps to get you started.

    Book Your Breakthrough

  • This is a course dedicated to defining your place in Food Media and crafting a unique strategy to get you there. In four one-hour sessions, we’ll work together to bring your passions, quirks, and dreams together to give you a valuable identity all your own that nobody can steal.

    • I’ll help you kickstart your visual identity - brand colors, type, attitude and aesthetics– and the things that get you noticed.

    • You’ll learn to market yourself in ways that are unique to you and move your brand forward.

    • I will guide you in creating and editing a digital portfolio and social media presence that reflects who YOU are.

    Book Your Sessions Now

  • So you want to be a food stylist? This one-on-one accelerator course is for you. I’ve concentrated twenty-five years of award-winning, top tier experience into six one-hour sessions that will give you the techniques, tools and tricks you need to kickstart your food styling career, including:

    • Composition, color theory, texture, balance and how to utilize these and other principles and elements of design to create strong, meaningful images.

    • Walk you step by step through a sample assignment, from the first brief to the final images.

    • You’ll learn how to conceptualize a visual story, create a mood board, and develop the skills to communicate your concepts clearly and persuasively.

    • Build your food styling kit and get paid to move it and use it.

    • Step by step action plan to build a portfolio – what do clients want to see, what sells, and how to organize it.

    • The business of food styling – best practices and industry standards – including estimates, advance requests and invoicing.

    • Is an agent right for you? I’ll help you decide and guide you through the steps to prepare to be represented.

    Book + Accelerate Your Food Styling

  • Do you dream of writing a cookbook but don’t know where to start? It can be as daunting as it is rewarding, but I’m here to help. I’ve written and published four cookbooks of my own and ghost-written, art directed and styled dozens of books for the likes of Anthony Bourdain, Marcus Samuelsson, Zac Posen, and Mark Bittman. In six one-hour sessions I’ll guide you through:

    • Defining your concept and audience

    • Compiling a recipe list and table of contents

    • Organizing your content into chapters and additional sections

    •  Writing a sample chapter

    •  Developing and writing sample recipes with engaging and informative headnotes

    • Choosing images to accompany your proposal

    • Compiling it all into a delicious and appealing proposal, ready to pitch!

    Book Now + Start Writing Your Cookbook

  • Are you looking to add directing to your Food Creative skill set? In four one-hour sessions, I’ll walk you step by step through the essentials of a sample assignment.

    • The first client call

    • Creating and presenting a treatment that communicates your vision

    • Creating a shot list

    • Prepare for casting, location scouting

    • Collaborating with your team on the shoot day,

    • You’ll come away from these sessions feeling confident and with an actionable plan to kickstart your directing journey.

    Book Now + Get Started in Directing

  • In easily digestible one-hour sessions, I can support and coach you through:

    • Building or editing a portfolio or image library

    •  Brainstorming concepts and moving them forward

    •  Conceptualizing, writing and creative directing cookbooks

    •  Conceptualizing and developing recipes

    •  Roadblocks and career transitions

    Small Bite/Big Result – 1 hour coaching/information session Book Here

    Bigger Bite, Bigger Results - 4 x 1-hour coaching sessions Book Here

    The Full Plate, Biggest Results - 6 x 1-hour coaching sessions (the most cost-effective) Book Here

    You will leave these sessions feeling understood, supported, and armed with the resources and information you need to move your Food Creativity forward.

    Imagine what it would feel like to be a vine, bursting with juicy, ripe fruit, ready to harvest!

What people are saying:

“My advice to anyone trying to break into food styling is to learn from Victoria. She is the Irving Penn of the profession and oh yes…collaborated with him. food styling is [just] her starting point. She is an amazing artist, director, and inspiration.”

—Craig Cutler, photographer

“If you are interested in the Food Media and finding your place in the culinary world, learn from Victoria. She is a creative genius, amazing mentor and beautiful human. Working with her and learning how she processes ideas has really helped me understand how to think creatively in a way that feels authentic to who I am, without limitations or fear.”

—Tony Ortiz, Culinary Artist